The Afghan war: About to get interesting

Maj. Fernando Lujan gave a fast-paced, lively talk on the
future of the American mission in Afghanistan.

His interlocutor, Rajiv
Chandrasekaran, kicked off this part of the
CNAS conference with a provocative question: Aren't most Afghan soldiers
lazy, corrupt guys just waiting to shoot an American soldier in the back?

Lujan tackled that one quickly. Yes, he said, there are some
terrible and corrupt senior leaders in the ranks. But for every one of them, he
said, there are several good aggressive junior leaders. As for shooting
Americans, he said, some of those incidents come from the Taliban, but others
are the result of the "well of resentment" that builds up when Afghan soldiers
see the contrast between how they live on a base and how Americans have air
conditioning, the internet and other "luxuries." Afghan soldiers are also treated insensitively, and
spoken to as if they were recruits being corrected by a drill instructor.

Furthermore, he said, the Afghan perspective tends to be different -- our
people are on a one-year sprint, and want to see results, while many Afghans
have been in the fight a long time.  

The Afghan war is about to get very interesting, Lujan said.
"The really hard part begins right now."
With the number of American troops declining, he explained, American advisors
increasingly will be forced to let the Afghans lead the way, and do it their
way.

One place to watch, he said, is Zabul Province, just north
of Kandahar, where the Taliban is very active and where two Afghan battalions
are operating "without coalition assistance." The problems the Afghans
encounter are not lack of infantry training or ardor, but lack of medics,
mechanics, and logistical support.

Lujan
heads back to Afghanistan in a couple of months for another tour of advisory
duty, Chandrasekaran said. 

If you are a glutton for Afghan stuff, here is another
discussion, from the American Security Project.